Confusion
by SB Sound FX
Summary: A story centered on Shinji's troubles with women. Chapter 7 is up!
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, this is my second attempt at writing a fan fic, my first one being in 2004. I've always loved Evangelion, so I'm going to do my best to portray a story in the best way I can. I can't tell you the pairings yet, or if there will end up being any pairings…because I don't even know my self. I'm basically making it up as I go along. You should be able to pick up when this takes place, because I'm too lazy to go find out my self. Well, here it goes…and please…be brutally honest.

" "-Speech

' '-Thoughts

* * *

9:26

There he slept, the third child. For him, 9:30 was late for waking up in the morning. Usually he would be the first one to wake, at around 7:00. But, he had trouble getting to sleep the previous night due to his constant thinking. He always seemed to run in circles the way he thought, he could never give him self a straight response. He was never clear in his actions, hell; he constantly wondered why he put his life at stake day in and day out, for people that probably would never do the same for him.

He sighed, slowly creeping open one eye to see the time. He then sat up, yawned and scratched the back of his neck. He brought him self to his feet, and slowly inched his way to the door. He was prepared for what was next…terror…he knew what happened when he slept late. He made it to the door, and grabbed the door handle. His eyes closed tightly, and he felt his heart beat begin to increase. "One….two…."

WHAM!

Before he had a chance to pull the doorknob, the door slammed open, smashing Shinji directly in the nose. His eyes widened, as he fell back on his rear holding his nose. At the other end of the door stood Asuka, the woman that haunted Shinji in his dreams, and in basically everything else.

"Idiot! I have patiently been waiting!" Asuka then pointed to the clock.

"As you should _obviously_ know, it is your turn to cook today, and you have been keeping me waiting for one hour! _Mein Gott!_ It's a project just to get food served on the table on time in this damned place you call home!" She then slammed the door closed, and made her way to the couch, and preceded to sit down, releasing a sigh of relief.

Shinji grunted, lifting himself to his feet. He found it amazing how self centered Asuka could be at times, she didn't even notice the damage she had done to his nose. He re-opened his door, making his way to the kitchen where he discovered Misato, still in her pajama attire.

"Morning, Shinji!" A rather peppy Misato exclaimed. "Someone overslept a little bit, hmm?" She teased, "I understand though, you must have just been dreaming about the most responsible, beautiful, and thoughtful guardian this side of Japan's ever introduced." She smiled, sipping from a can of beer.

He raised an eyebrow at her; he knew she couldn't possibly be talking about her self. Number one, she certainly wasn't responsible, unless it came to commanding the evangelion units. Number two; her idea of thoughtful was going out with Kaji for a night of drinking. And number three, well, she was a beautiful woman…but Shinji never really thought of her in any way besides a guardian. "Uhm…who would that be, Misato?"

He noticed her eye twitch in a bit of anger, but she quickly calmed her self down, "Forget it Shinji, just make us some breakfast, I'm starved! Oh, and before I forget, I need to you to bring this to Rei's once you're done with breakfast, okay?" She laid out some documents labeled "NERV" on the front of them.

Shinji simply nodded, and began making breakfast. He was by far the best cook in the house. Misato was absolutely horrible, and Asuka was barely decent. Shinji always seemed to put a bit more in his cooking. He finished up, and the three sat down. But, something seemed to be missing.

Just then, as if on cue, out came the greatly loved warm water penguin, Pen Pen. He stood next to the table, letting out some sort of a sound, and food was delivered to him. He waddled over to his food, and happily began eating it.

The meal went on in silence, no one really caring to say a word to one another at this point. Shinji was the first to finish, and he brought his dishes to the sink. He then grabbed the documents and headed to the door.

"And where exactly are you heading, Third?" asked Asuka.

Misato then butted in, "He's heading over to Rei's, probably going to try and take advantage of her in her sleep, right Shinji?"

Shinji blushed at the comment, "No! I-I wouldn't!"

Misato laughed, and Asuka just rolled her eyes. "Calm down Shinji, I was just kidding around, go on." Misato then turned her attention back to her food.

--------------------------------------------------------------

There was then the sound of a door shutting, as Shinji made his way over to Rei's apartment. He looked down at the documents he held in his hand, a bit curious to see what they were. They were probably just useless documents about Unit 00, and it wasn't his business to look anyway.

He arrived at her door, and knocked twice. Usually Rei would never answer her door, which was also the case this time. He then grabbed the doorknob, always feeling awkward just opening someone else's door. He remembered the last time he visited here; he had ended up with a nude Rei. He blushed at the thought, and called out her name when the door was opened.

"Uhm…Ayanami? It's me, Shinji. I'm just here to bring you some things from NERV" He did not hear any response, as usual, so he proceeded into the room. He then closed his eyes, just in case, and called her name once more, "Ayanami? Hmm…maybe she's not here…" He opened his eyes, to see Rei just inches away from him, which made his heart jump a bit. "Ah!…Oh…uhm…it's just you."

She stared at him, blankly, waiting for him to get to the point, "Yes, Ikari?"

"Oh, yeah, I brought you these documents." He held them up, and then handed them to her. "Okay, well, I guess I'll be going now."

He then took a step away from her, swallowing some saliva.

"Why?" Rei just blurted out.

Shinji gave a confused look at her, "Why what? Did I bring you these documents?"

"No. Why are you always so nervous? Are you afraid I will harm you?"

He recalled getting a slap on the face when they spoke of his father, but that was the only time she had actually ever harmed him. "No…I just, well, I don't know." He brought his eyes up to meet hers, and began to get lost in them. Her eyes were so unique, so different, and in some way they were seductive.

He blushed, taking another step back. "I guess I'll be…going t-" Before he could finish his statement he forgot there was a step where he had placed his foot. Clumsily, he fell backwards, slamming his head down on the ground. And then he blacked out.

* * *

Well, there it is. The first chapter. Tell me what you think. And remember! Brutally Honest. I'm not sure where this story will go, so give me some ideas of what you'd like. I'm open to anything. Think of this as just…an introduction of sorts…me testing my self in a way. If things work out, then I'll continue this and hopefully get a good story going. 


	2. Chapter 2

All right well, here I go again. Thanks to everyone who replied to the fic so far, I appreciate it really. And in advance, sorry if it takes me a while to update, I'm a procrastinator. Well, onto the story. Maybe by the end of this chapter I'll find out where I'm going with this fic?

* * *

Black. All he could see was black. Pure black. Could he see? Was he awake? Where was he? What happened? He then thought back in time. He remembered then, he had been at Rei's. He was delivering her those papers from Nerv. That's all he could really remember.

Shinji moved his hand up to his forehead, and began rubbing it softly. He slowly felt himself get back his composure, and he began opening his eyes. He then shifted his attention to the ceiling; it was once again unfamiliar.

He heard some footsteps, but didn't bother look to where they were coming from. He was still having a bit of trouble seeing and thinking straight. He must have hit his head pretty hard.

"You're awake."

Shinji then looked over, seeing Rei. He must have been at her apartment still. She had moved him from the ground over to her bed. He looked over at the clock; it was 1:00 pm. His eyes widened realizing the situation; he had been knocked out for that long. He had arrived there at around 10:30. "What…what happened?"

Rei looked down at him, about 5 feet away from the bed. "You fell, and got hurt. So I let you rest."

Shinji slowly sat up, still feeling dizzy. He returned his attention to her, and nodded once. "Oh, thank you. I didn't mean to bother you…" Slowly he began standing up, which was oddly very challenging at this point. "I'll…just be going now…err…" It was challenging for him to even stand, never mind walk. He then began losing his balance, starting to trip.

"You need assistance." Rei said as she walked near him, wrapping his arm around her. "I will support you back to your home."

Shinji blushed as his arm went around her, not daring to look at her. "Uhm..t-thanks, Ayanami."

They then proceeded to walk, outside of Rei's apartment and over to Shinji's.

-------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, a very bored Asuka sat in the living room of her current home, watching some ridiculous television show about a man attempting to catch some swamp monster. "_Please_, I defeat monsters one hundred times the size of that every day." She then slumped back in the couch, letting out a painful sigh. "There is absolutely nothing to do. Kaji is out doing his oh-so-secret-business, Hikari is off spending the day with her parents, and everyone around this stupid place is boring!"

She stood up, making her way over to the kitchen. She was dressed fairly lazily, wearing a loose yellow t-shirt and some shorts. "Jeez, even an angel would be better than just sitting around here alone. And what the hell is Shinji up to anyone? All he had to do was deliver some papers! I knew it! Him and Wonder Girl must have something together." She made her way to the fridge, opening it up, but unfortunately nothing occupied it except a sleeping penguin. She simply closed the fridge door, leaning against the counter.

Then she heard the doorbell. 'Well, I may just have to put a stop to that.' She then fixed back her hair, slowly approaching the door. She opened it, and was shocked at what she saw. Shinji, with his arm over Rei. That was just the last straw, now it was a fact that something was going on. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Rei then looked up into Asuka's eyes, "Shinji is injured, he requires some rest. You will have to escort him to the couch.

Shinji then switched his attention over to Asuka, reluctantly putting his arm around her. Her eyes narrowed, feeling a bit of anger. "Fine. You better not get any funny ideas, third child." She then slammed the shut door on Rei, no word of thanks given to her, and moved Shinji over to the couch, and laid him down.

The Second Child crossed her arms, looking down at him in disgust, "So, what took you so long at Rei's? Hmm? You enjoy playing with _dolls_, Shinji? Well whatever, don't even answer the question."

Shinji then kept his head on his forehead; he was starting to feel better until Asuka started rambling on. "No…I just hit my head and I blacked out."

"See what going over there does to you? You should have just stayed here with me, and have Misato's lazy ass deliver it to Wonder Girl." She knelt down next to him, examining his head. "I don't think it's too serious, but we can't be too careful. I'll make you some soup, 'kay?"

Shinji blinked, feeling a bit confused. "Uhm…okay…thank you, Asuka." For some reason, Asuka was acting a bit too nice to him.

She finally came back to the couch, with a steaming bowl of soup. The aroma filled the room, making Shinji's mouth begin to water. He hadn't eat much, since his breakfast was so rushed. He sat up, and Asuka then sat next to him.

"Open your mouth." Asuka blurted out to him.

"…What?" Shinji raised an eye brow.

"I said open your mouth, you obviously aren't strong enough to feed your self, so I'll feed you. So, open your mouth."

Shinji then opened his mouth, feeling much like a little child. He had to say though, he did enjoy the attention he was receiving from Asuka. He looked into her eyes, and just saw something different in her expression. She didn't seem unhappy or upset.

She then took a spoonful of the soup out, blowing on it a bit, and then brought the spoon into his mouth. "How is it?"

Shinji blushed a bit, "…perfect…"

She smiled at him, feeling a bit of warmness enter her heart for a split second, but then quickly shook it off. "Don't get too comfortable, alright? I'm just doing this because you're hurt."

Shinji nodded, and the procedure continued until he was done with the bowl. "Thanks again…I'm feeling better. But, I have to ask you…"

Asuka then nodded once at him.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

She then gave him a death stare, "Oh, so you're saying I'm not nice to you?"

He frowned at her, "No, no…it's not that it's just…you're not usually, well, _this_ nice. I like it."

"Well, think of it as just a blessing from the great Asuka Langley Sohryu." She smiled at him. "Say, Shinji, can I ask you something?"

He nodded, looking away from her "Sure, anything."

She then gazed straight into his eyes, moving closer to him on the couch. She then reached out her hand, gently placing it on his cheek, turning his attention to her, and forcing him to look in her eyes. She saw his blush begin to form, as she knew it would. "Who do you like better? Me or Rei?"

"Wh…what? What do you mean? I, er…well…you both are…different, and I can't really well… I gu—" His words were cut off as she leaned in closer to him, quickly pressing her lips against his, but she was gentle. He could feel his heart racing, his eyes widening and then slowly dimming down. It just felt so right.

After a little while, she slowly pulled away, opening her eyes to see his reaction. "Think about it for me." She winked at him. "You should get some sleep."

He didn't say a word, simply nodding, and rested his head back. He couldn't tell if he was even awake, he was probably dreaming. But he sure as hell hoped not. He then slowly closed his eyes, feeling more relaxed than he ever remembered him self.

Asuka then made her way to the kitchen, a small look of worry seen in her facial expression. 'Did I…enjoy that?'

* * *

Well, there it is. Chapter two. Still haven't really figured out where this stories going, but somewhere hopefully good. Please review, and thanks to everyone that reads. And remember….brutally honest. 


	3. Chapter 3

Well, first of all sorry about all the waiting and stuff like that, I've been sort of busy. Work and stuff , you know how it is. Oh, thanks a ton to everyone who's reviewed. I really appreciate it, now, on with the story.

* * *

"Ikari? Shinji Ikari?

It was time to call attendance at school, and Shinji was nowhere to be found.

"I suppose he's not here then." The teacher then continued with the attendance.

The whole class had been there that day, with the exception of Shinji.

Rei, as always, sat at the edge of the room by her self, gazing through the window. The teacher never really bothered to talk to her about it, she got decent grades, so it wasn't really a big deal.

Kensuke and Touji sat in the center of the room, both having sly grins on their faces. Kensuke brought his camera to school, and he didn't plan on filming the teacher. He was holding the camera down near his knees, slowly moving it around the room to see if he could catch a shot up a girl's skirt.

"Let me take a look!" Touji went to grab the camera.

"No way!" Kensuke pulled it away from him, and the two began fighting over the camera.

"Listen Kensuke, if you don't give me that camera you're going to regret ever wearing glasses!"

Suddenly Touji felt a sharp pain in his ear, "Ow, ow, ow, ow," He looked behind him to see the class representative, Hikari.

She then snatched away the camera, releasing Touji's ear, "I don't know what you two were filming, but you can get this back at the end of the day. And you two better hope nothing perverted is on here."

"Great job, Touji." Kensuke sighed.

Hikari then placed the camera on the teachers desk, and made her way over to Asuka, "Hey Asuka, where's Shinji?"

"The lazy bum is still sleeping, and I was too busy to wake him up." Asuka said, brushing some hair out of her face.

"Oh." Hikari simply replied.

----------------------

Shinji had still been on the couch, having a pretty decent sleep. He was not in his room, so he had no alarm to wake him up. Finally, he felt himself begin to come back into reality. He went to open his eyes, but the light in the room was way too bright. He covered up his eyes, and went to roll over on what he thought was his bed. Unfortunately, the only thing next to him was an unforgiving drop onto a hard living room floor. He landed on his chest, his eyes tightly clenching closed in pain.

"Urgh…" He reached out his palms, and began pushing down on the ground and pushed himself up onto his knees. He looked over at the digital time flashing on the VCR in the room. The time read 9:35; he was well over an hour late for school.

"Oh no…" He stumbled to his feet, and began rushing around the house to find what he needed for school. He quickly put on his uniform, and grabbed his bag.

'Maybe I can get a ride from Misato.' He thought. He made his way over to her room, seeing her door cracked open a little bit. He slowly opened it the rest of the way, only to reveal some loud snoring and the form of a lump underneath a blanket.

"Mm Kaji, stop it, you know you can't touch me there with out me getting excited. Oh fine, maybe just once more. Mmm…" Misato contently slept, dreaming of…well, dreaming.

Shinji's eye twitched, slowly backing out of his guardian's room, and shut the door. "Well…I guess that a ride from Misato is out of the question.

He then made his way over to the kitchen, deciding that he would have enough time to get some breakfast. He was already late anyway, mind as well make the most of it, he just needed to be back before his test. Suddenly he heard the sound of a fridge door opening, and a certain warm water penguin came out. For some reason, it looked very agitated that morning.

"Oh, hey Pen Pen."

The penguin looked right into Shinji's eyes, he seemed to be staring Shinji down. Shinji just blinked, feeling a bit confused. Was a penguin trying to threaten him?

Pen Pen continued to stare Shinji down, until the boy finally gave up.

"I'm sorry?"

The penguin then waddled back to his fridge angrily.

"Wonder what was wrong with him?" Shinji then looked down at Pen Pen's food bowl, which had been empty, and must have been for some time now. "Oh." And so, he opened a can of tuna and dropped it into the bowl.

"Guess I'll be walking to school today." He picked up his backpack and made his way out of the door.

As he walked to school, he began thinking back into the previous day. He didn't know if what happened was a dream or reality, it was so out of blue and unlike Asuka. 'If it was a dream it sure as hell did feel real,' He thought to himself. The third child then looked up to the sky, admiring the clouds that floated above him.

----------------------

He finally made it to school, and entered his classroom. He could feel everyone staring at him as he made his entrance. "I'm sorry I'm late, I overslept" He brought himself to his seat, next to Kensuke and Touji.

Kensuke looked over to his friend, "Say Shinji, what held you up?" He fixed his glasses, talking in a quiet voice.

"What I just said held me up, I over slept…" Shinji's eyes carried around the room.

Touji then decided to butt in, "Psh, I'll bet you he's been getting lucky with Misato."

"That true Shinji?" Kensuke asked, both awaiting his response.

'Not with Misato…' Shinji thought. "No, that's not true."

"Yeah, sure it isn't." Touji grinned at Shinji, "lucky dog."

Shinji just sighed, looking up at the clock.

----------------------

It came time for lunch, and Shinji decided to make his way over to Asuka, "Hey Asuka, how come you didn't wake me up this morning?"

She turned her attention to him, crossing her arms, "Do I need a reason? I didn't feel like it, okay?"

"…Alright, oh about last night."

She cut him off, "What _about_ last night?"

He picked up the hint, "Never mind."

"Hmph, Idiot." She then spun her heel, and walked away from him.

He stood dumbfounded, amazed at how her mood could swing so drastically. "Well, it was good while it lasted…"

Hikari then stepped in front of him, "Hey Shinji, don't forget you have to stay after school and help clean up today."

He nodded, and then went to eat his lunch.

----------------------

Class continued after lunch with pointless ramblings of the second impact. Shinji would rather have been watching paint dry then listen to this lecture.

The bell finally rang, and the whole class began to exit except for Shinji and Hikari. He began to walk up to the front of the room, accidentally bumping into Rei, causing her to drop her book.

"Oh, I'm sorry Rei, I didn't see where I was going." He then reached down, and grabbed her book, and kept a mental note to keep his eyes down to the ground, she was wearing a skirt after all. He then stood back up, handing her the book. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine." She said, and made her way past Shinji, out of the door.

"So, what's first?" Shinji looked over to Hikari.

"Hmm, well, start with the chalkboard and then grab the broom." Hikari began examining the desks for writing.

Shinji then made his way over to the chalkboard, and began erasing it. He snuck a glance back at Hikari. She had taken her pigtails out, and let her hair down.

"Looks good…" He blurted out unintentionally.

"What?" She looked up at him.

He blushed, not realizing he had said it, "Uhm…I meant your hair. I've never seen it down before. I just said it looks good."

"Oh…thank you." She looked down at the ground, and then back up into his eyes, "You're different than most guys Shinji. There's just something about you, and I don't think Asuka can see it."

Shinji was taken back by what he had heard; by no means did he think he was special in any way. If anything he was worse than everyone us. He didn't really know what to say to her to respond to that, so he just kept cleaning.

After a little while, she finally spoke up, "You can go now Shinji, all of the work is basically done."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then." He began making his way over to the exit until he was stopped.

"Shinji, wait." She walked up to him, leaned in, and planted a kiss on his cheek, "Thanks again…"

He brushed his finger tips against his cheek, feeling him self blush, "…No problem…"

He then slowly exited the room, and began to walk back home.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it, review please. 


	4. Chapter 4

Well, thanks again for all of the reviews. I have to stop doing these so late and night. Oh, and before I forget again…

**I do not own Evangelion, or anything associated with it.**

There, got that out of my system.

Now, onto the next chapter.

­

* * *

Asuka could be found wasting her mind away on the couch, watching some odd cartoon on TV. She wasn't exactly paying attention to the show, she had other things on her mind.

No one was home, except for Pen Pen of course. Misato had gone to NERV to pick up some things, and Shinji still hadn't come back from school. He had been there for a pretty long time, a bit too long to just be cleaning up a classroom. She they began thinking back to the previous night, and what she had done.

"Why _did_ I do that?" She just began talking to her self, what harm could it do if a penguin heard her? "Well, I don't have to explain my self to anyone…I am the great Asuka, designated pilot of evangelion unit 2, after all." She couldn't help but smile at her comment.

She then heard the sound of a door knob turning. She stood, ran to the door, and opened it to reveal none other than the third child, Shinji Ikari.

"What took you? You been making moves on Hikari?" She tapped her foot impatiently.

Before he had a chance to think about his response, he slipped. "_I_ wasn't making the moves." He then blushed, realizing what he said, "I mean, no…er…I need to go-read…or something…in my room."

He managed to sneak by her, rush into his room, and close the door behind him.

"Smooth, Shinji, Smooth." He told himself.

--------------------------

Meanwhile, over at NERV, Misato and Ritsuko had been walking through the halls, for the most part keeping quiet

Ritsuko looked over to the major, deciding to bring something up. "So, how are the kids?"

Misato let out a sigh, "Well, they seem fine, except Shinji has been over sleeping lately. It sort of worries me, usually he's the responsible one of the place."

"Mm, well obviously we can't rely on the guardian of the house to be responsible." Ritsuko grinned, "And how is Kaji?"

"Why would I know, and why would I care?" She gave the scientist a death glare, and decided to change the subject before Ritsuko responded, "How are the cats?"

"Well, since you brought them up…Spanky has been just fine, Carl has been pretty lazy, Patricia can't control her bowels, Tommy has been getting cranky, Franky passed away…"

Soon enough Misato just tuned her out, wishing she had never asked in the first place. This would go on for a while.

--------------------------

"I shouldn't do it, she wouldn't want me to. Who _would_ want me to?"

Shinji was laying down on his bed in his room, holding a cell phone up above his eyes. Seven digits were shown blinking on the screen of the phone, Shinji's finger slowly looming over the send button.

"I musn't run away, I musn't run away…" His eyes clenched closed tightly, taking in a deep breath and finally pushed in the button.

"Oh no..." He began hesitating, not sure of what to say. He just wanted to hang the phone up now, before she answered. But it was too late.

"Hello?"

Shinji felt his palms begin to get sweaty as he began to speak, "Oh uhm…Hikari? It's Shinji from school…"

"Oh hey Shinji, what's up? You forget the homework?"

He could feel his heart beat all through out his body, trying to build up some courage, "No, I was just…wondering if you would like to, maybe, come with me to a movie tonight?"

He stopped breathing, awaiting the response.

'She is going to say no! I should have known! Why am I such an idiot! What was I thinking! Asking a girl out…I'm a failure.'

"I'd be happy to Shinji, is eight o' clock good enough for you?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then…" He was shocked at her response, slowly bringing his finger to the phone and ended the call. Quickly he shot his attention at the clock. It was 6:43, he didn't have too much time. He began to get ready for the date, showering and getting dressed as fast as he could.

He finally finished getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and packing some money into his pocket. His hair was still wet from the shower, but it didn't really matter to him. He made his way out to the living room, seeing Asuka. She was still watching television.

He attempted to sneak over to the door unheard and unseen, but unfortunately was unsuccessful.

"Where are you heading, Third? You seem awfully dressed up."

"Uh…out?" He slowly took a step backwards, then fled out of the apartment before she could question him further.

Asuka yet again felt dumbfounded, "What's up _his_ ass?"

--------------------------

He finally arrived at Hikari's house, feeling more nervous then he ever felt before facing an angel. He made his way up the steps, slowly bringing his finger to the door bell, and rang it cautiously.

The person he expected to answer the door unfortunately did not answer. When the door opened a very strong, tall, hairy middle aged man was on the other side. In a way he seemed to resembled Hikari, so it must have been her father.

"Yeah? We don't want any!"

Shinji felt a gust of wind, as the door slammed shut into his face. Moments later it opened up again, only this time Hikari had answered it. Shinji let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that Shinji, my father doesn't like me dating…"

He looked past Hikari to see her father simply glaring down at him, which made Shinji glad he went to the bathroom before he made his way over.

Hikari then came outside, the shutting the door behind her. "Well, ready to go?"

Shinji swallowed some saliva, nervously answering, "Yes?"

The two then began walking, it had been a beautiful night. The sky seemed vibrant, and full of stars. There was a cooling breeze circling through the air. The temperature was perfect, the mood was perfect, everything seemed to be going perfect.

Shinji felt something skim his hand. He looked down at his hand, blushing to realize that Hikari had been holding hands with him. She had a smile on her face. She seemed content.

--------------------------

A door was heard closing in the Katsuragi household, Asuka shooting up from the couch. "Shinji?"

"Sorry to disappoint, Asuka, just me." Misato came in, looking over at Asuka, who seemed a bit too anxious for the Third Child to come home. "So where is Shinji then?"

Asuka crossed her arms, "I don't know, but he's been acting weird lately. Maybe he's been taking steroids…God knows he needs it."

"Asuka, don't say that. He probably just went for some alone time."

"Hmph." Asuka then walked back to the couch, lazily laying her self back down.

"I need a beer…" Misato said, making her way over to the kitchen.

--------------------------

The two finally arrived at the theater, deciding to see a movie called "Mushy Romance II: The Most Cliché Movie Around." He bought them some soda and popcorn, and they made their way in.

"Let's sit in the back Shinji, there's a better view in the back." Hikari tugged at his hand, dragging him up the stairs as the two sat down in the back row.

Suddenly a young man, about their age came out in front of the screen, "Good afternoon, this is Grant. And if you haven't noticed…I'm back."

There was an applause in the crowd, seemed as if he was popular in the theater world.

"Today may be Monday," He continued, "But Mushy Romance II: The Most Cliché Movie Around is tonight! So please, sit back, relax, and all you couples sit in the back! Hyuck!" He laughed at his own horrible rhyme.

"Wait, what's that mean, Hikari?" He looked over at her.

"Sshh! It's starting!" She tugged warmly against his arm, resting her head on his shoulder.

He blushed once more, trying to keep his attention on the movie…which was unbelievably boring. He looked around him, and all he saw was couples, and they were all making out. Than he directed his attention down at Hikari, who looked right back into his eyes."

The two scooted closer to each other, and for once Shinji wasn't feeling afraid. He began leaning in closer to her, ready to make a move. But unfortunately, things wouldn't work out the way he planet.

"You're looking great tonight, Asuka…" He didn't realize what he had said until he had finished saying it.

"What!" Her eyes widened, standing up. "What did you call me!"

"I-I-…I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"

Everyone in the theater turned around to look at them.

Hikari clenched her fists, grabbing the soda to her right, lifted off the cap, and dumped it over Shinji's head. She then stomped out of the theater, and quickly made her way home.

Everyone in the theater turned back around to face the movie. Some people were laughing, and some people just didn't care.

Shinji sighed, pushing some ice cubes out of his now sticky hair. It was going to be a long walk home. And to make matters worse, it had begun to rain.

* * *

Hey, end of the chapter. Thanks for reading. 


	5. Chapter 5

Well, onto chapter five. I have no work for the rest of this week, I'm kind of psyched. Anyway…enough about me, on with the story. Right, here it goes…yep…about to…start…the…chapter…right…about…now

* * *

It was going to be a very long walk home for the young evangelion pilot. His hair was sticky, he felt absolutely horrible, and it was raining out.

'I hate the rain…' He thought to himself, as he took his first step outdoors. He looked in front of him, seeing an endless path of misery. 'Asuka's right…I am an idiot.'

Shinji stuffed his hands into his pockets, slowly continuing his walk. He felt the rain begin to pour, watching as the rain dripped from his face onto the ground. It was painful, watching individual raindrops form into a puddle. The third child didn't think like most others. He always found himself thinking in a symbolic manner.

"One individual drop of rain…simply becomes an almost insignificant portion of a large puddle. It's almost as if it becomes nothing when it hits the ground…I wonder what really happens when you die?" His train of thought was interrupted when he began hearing the strumming of strings.

"Raindrops keep falling on my head, and just like a guy who's feat are too big for his bed. Nothing seems to fit, those, raindrops are falling on my head, they keep on falling. So, I just did me some talking to the sun, and I said I didn't like the way he got things done. Sleeping on the job, those, raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling."

Shinji looked behind him to see an elderly man, equipped with an acoustic guitar playing some old song he'd never heard before. It was strangely soothing. He made his way over to the man, for some reason he didn't feel afraid. "Maybe you should get out of the rain?"

The man simply ignored him though, and kept his song going.

"Raindrops keep falling on my head, but that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red, crying's not for me. Cause, I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining, because I'm free…Nothing's worrying me…"

'Well, I guess everyone needs to make a living.' Shinji shuffled through his pockets, pulling out twenty dollars left over from the movies. He placed it in a hat that the man put underneath him, and walked off. But for some reason, he couldn't get the song out of his head.

----------------------------

It was 9:35, and there was a knock at the Katsuragi household. Asuka groaned, having been absorbed in a magazine she had been reading. Misato had just gotten out of the bath, so she was busy changing.

"Do I need to do _everything_ myself!" Asuka brought her self to the door, unlocking it, and opened it to reveal a very soggy, cold, miserable third child.

"What happened to _you?_" She couldn't help but let a small grin out, looking over at the dismantled boy.

Shinji really hadn't been in the mood, "I don't feel like talking about it…"

He went to walk by her, but she held him back, and looked directly into his eyes from a couple of seconds. She could see the pain, and it brought down her grin. "What happened?"

"I said I don't feel like talking about it…" He then forced his way past her, his shoes squeaking as he walked. The first place he made his way to was the bathroom. He shut the door, disrobed, and turned on the shower.

He brought up his leg, and took a step into the shower… a bad move. He felt something furry dig into the bottom of his foot. His eye twitched, as he looked down in fear and disgust. What sat beneath his foot was nothing other than a large, grotesque ball of mangled lavender hair. He didn't know where it came from, how so much of it came off, or why it was there…and he didn't feel like finding out.

"Great, just great." He gently closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. He grabbed some toilet paper, scraping off the hair carefully, and dumped it into the trash. Finally he got into the shower, being able to bathe in peace.

----------------------------

It was 10:03, and Shinji had been in the shower for about a half hour. Asuka let out a yawn, rubbing her eyes. "What the hell is he _doing_ in there!"

She stretched her arms out, and finally decided to give up. "Guess I'll just have to talk to him later."

She made her way back to her room, and slipped into bed. She didn't have too much trouble sleeping, considering how tired she was. Still though, something was always in the back of her mind as she slept.

She began to mumble, "Shinji…"

----------------------------

The third stepped out of the bathroom at about 10:14, wrapped in a towel. He felt a bit refreshed, but his mood was no better. He stepped into his room, and slowly began to change into his pajamas. For some reason, the fact that his room was incredibly plain and boring had occurred to him for the first time. He had no posters, and no color in it. There was nothing that really stuck out in his room. Perhaps it was a reflection of his personality. Was he really that simple?

Later, the boy made his way out of his room, immediately noticing Misato standing outside of his door when he exited. She was wearing the same black suit when the two had met for the first time. "Want to talk?" She took no time to beat around the bush.

"Umm…I…guess?" He replied, wondering what she needed to talk to him about.

She led him outside to the balcony. It had stopped raining, and it had actually returned to a decent temperature outside. There was a nice breeze every now and then, which one could admire.

They both stood outside, leaning against the railing in silence for a bit. Finally, out of nowhere, both of them blurted out at the same time…

"Women."

"Men."

Misato raised an eyebrow, looking down at the boy, "And what exactly do you have to complain about women?"

He looked back up at her, "Oh…nothing, I just don't understand them."

As he was about to speak again, he realized how unlike him this was. Why was he talking to Misato about something like this? Well, everything was a bit confusing lately.

"Why is it such a big deal to call the girl that you're on a date with another girl's name? I mean…it just slipped."

"Wait, backtrack a little bit here, Shinji. What happened now? You had a date?"

Shinji sighed, "I shouldn't have even said anything…but yeah…with Hikari. And just when things were starting to look decent I accidentally, well, called her Asuka."

Misato blinked, trying to take in all the information at once. First of all, Shinji on a date, she didn't even have a clue!

"What _isn't_ wrong with that Shinji? How would you feel if, well, hmm. Say we were on a date, and we were about to share a moment. And all of a sudden, I call you Kaji? Shows who my mind is on, doesn't it?"

'Well, I think everyone knows you have a thing with Kaji though, Misato…' He thought to himself. "I guess I see your point."

There was another pause, until Shinji decided to speak up again, "So why are you complaining about men?"

"Well, for starters they're inconsiderate, stupid, jerks, unshaven, losers, secretive, flirtatious, arrogant, obnoxious…and…ugh!"

Shinji blinked, realizing who she was talking about. "Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, at least you're not like that."

There was another pause, and it was Misato's turn to break the silence.

"You really care for her, huh?"

"Wha- who?" He decided to play stupid.

"Asuka…"

He looked away from Misato, not really knowing how to answer that. He cared for her, he just didn't know in what way.

"Good night, Shinji…you're a good kid."

She then pushed her finger up on his chin, turned his attention to her, and placed a kiss on his fore head. "Sweet dreams, bud."

He felt himself blush, and nodded at her. "G-Goodnight, Misato…and uhm…thanks."

She smiled at him, and made her way to her bedroom.

* * *

Thanks for reading. By the way, I do not by any means own "Raindrops keep falling on my head" By B.J. Thomas. But he rocks. 


	6. Chapter 6

Well, story time kids.

* * *

Today, Shinji decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to be late for school. He felt the desperate need to redeem himself. Somehow he had to give the best apology anyone had ever given, and it would have to be sincere.

He made it to school, practically sprinting into the classroom. Thankfully, the class was entirely empty. Well, it was 4:00 in the morning after all.

"Guess I didn't really pay attention to the time…"

----------------------------

Shinji then woke up to the sound of a bell. He opened is eyes to see that the class had suddenly become full of students. Some how he ended up in his seat, sleeping soundly. He darted his attention around the room, trying to spot Hikari. She finally entered the room, just in time to order the class to stand, bow, and sit. He would have to wait to talk to her.

He looked down at his computer, noticing a message. He enlarged it, to see who had sent it.

Eva02Pilot: What happened last night, and why did you come here so early? I heard the teacher found you sleeping here at like 6.

He pondered on what to type, and looked over to Asuka, who was glaring right back at him.

Ikari01: Nothing happened really, and I just wanted to come early to make sure I wasn't late…

As she was about to respond, the teacher walked by and noticed the conversation, "Erhem…can we please keep focused?"

She grunted, and cancelled out of the message.

----------------------------

The bell for lunch rang and Shinji immediately rushed over to Hikari, "Hikari, can I talk to you?"

Hikari shot a glance back at the boy, a look of disgust entering her eyes when she heard his voice, "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry, I really am. I mean-what happened…I didn't mean for that to happen. It was just…because…" He then finally realized that there _was_ no good excuse, because she would never believe him.

"It's over, forget about it." She began walking away from him.

"Is there any way that I can make up for it?" He chased after her.

"Yes, stay away from me."

He stopped dead in his tracks. The words processed through his mind over and over, until he couldn't take it. He felt like he couldn't breathe, trying to understand why he felt this way…until he finally realized why.

'I know why…because I have never tried to become close to people. I'm afraid that something like this will happen…in yet…I'm the one that made this happen. But why…?' He looked into the distance, to spot the pilot of evangelion unit 02. 'Did I do it on purpose…?'

He sighed, drawing his attention to the rest of the room. Touji and Kensuke hadn't been in school that day. They were skipping, which seemed pointless to Shinji. There was only one person he knew that he could actually approach at this moment.

"Ayanami…"

The red-eyed girl looked up at him, no sign of emotion apparent, "Yes, Ikari?"

"Can I uhm…sit with you for lunch. I don't really have many places to go…"

"If you would like…" She then looked away from him.

He sat down across from her, resting his lunch down on the table infront of him, "So, do anything fun yesterday?" He scratched the back of his neck, struggling to form some sort of a conversation.

"No." She simply stated.

"Oh…" He felt awkward around her, no matter where they were. Something was never right.

There was an awkward silence, that seemed to last forever.

"What…do you see in my father?" It was the only subject the two could really talk about.

"What?" Rei gave him a confused look.

"He just seems…so cold. It's like he doesn't have a heart."

There was another pause.

"And you seem so close to him. I've seen the way you smile for him…and I don't see you do that for anyone else."

"It is not necessary to show emotions."

That was all that he could take. "Necessary for _what_!" For some reason, a rush of anger came through him.

"It's not _necessary_ to do anything! But we do it because we _exist! _To show that we're _alive_!" He stood up slamming his fists down on the table. "To show that we have a damn soul! Don't you have a _soul_ Rei!"

He began to breathe heavily, exhausted from his outburst. He looked into her eyes and saw something he'd never seen before. She was crying.

Everyone was quiet, just staring at him. He felt his heart stop, and he took a step away from her. And then he ran away.

----------------------------

The third child found himself in his room, alone, lying bed. He wanted to be alone, all he wanted to be was alone. He was sick of everyone, but most of all he was sick of himself. He hated himself, everything about him. The way he looked, talked, and acted. He hated his present, past, and future. But for some reason, he just wanted to be by himself.

"What the hell is wrong with me…?" He began talking to himself.

"I was about to ask the same thing." A familiar voice spoke out.

"Asuka…" He sat up to see her.

"So, what's wrong?" She glared right into his eyes.

"…Nothing." He stood up, and went to walk past her…only to find himself to get slammed into the wall, and pinned against it.

"No! I'm so sick of this! You talk about existence! Well, _I_ exist! So acknowledge _me!_ Why the hell are you so distant in telling me things!"

He began to push her back, beginning to get frustrated. He was trying to find a way to escape answering, until he finally gave up, "Because, Asuka! Because…you treat me like shit!"

The two both stopped struggling, and released each other. Shinji slumped back against the wall, closing his eyes and tilted his head up.

There was a moment of silence.

"…There's more than one way to show that you care about someone…" Asuka let out quietly.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, meeting her eyes. They just stared at each other for a moment, until he felt Asuka pressed against him, clinging her arms around him tightly. He didn't really know how to react, except to slowly put his arms around her. He felt confused, upset, and yet somehow completely content at the same time.

"I'm s-"

She cut him off, "Don't say it…"

* * *

Thanks for reading. 


	7. Update

Wow, it has been over two years since I have even looked at this fan fiction. Recently I decided to come back to visit the website, and reviewed my own story. I know that I can add to it, and if people want me to continue it I would be glad to.

So, if enough people get hyped about it, or are interested to see where the story goes comment me about it. I look forward to seeing what you guys think!

Thanks,

Joe


	8. Chapter 7

Okay, so it's 3:34 AM on a Friday…erm Saturday night. I have got early band practice, and work late tomorrow…or should I say tonight? You know what I mean. Alas, I have been procrastinating with this story for far too long. So, I shall carry on with nyquil in my system and all. I thank each and every one of you for encouraging me, honestly I appreciate it.

8:54

The event that had just taken place replayed through Shinji's mind several times. For a moment he had forgotten that he was still in her arms. He took in the her scent, and felt a rush go through his body. He had never felt something like this before. He felt young, but old. Bitter, but sweet. And most importantly…alone, but united all at once.

Asuka waited a moment, and grasped what had been going on. She then took a break from everything going on in the world, and wandered into the entrance of her mind. That was her first mistake.

'What are you doing?'

'You don't need him.'

'He will only hurt you, like everyone else.'

'Just think about momma…'

"No…" Asuka whispered

Shinji blinked, "Huh?"

'If your own mother abandoned you than you have no hope.'

'Pathetic, weak. You are just as weak as him now. Are you going to rely on him like you relied on your Mother? So he can let you down, fuck you over like everyone else has?'

"No, I won't let you!" Asuka pulled away from Shinji, and smacked him in the face. She then retreated into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

9:00

9:05

9:17

The door remained locked, and Shinji remained standing. He stood in the same exact spot, holding his cheek. He only had one question to ask. He wasn't asking anyone imparticular, but at the same time he was asking everyone.

"Why?"

A crack of thunder was heard through out the building, and the sound of raindrops echoed through Tokyo-3.

"I hate the rain…"

Minutes later he found himself walking through the rain, once again. He didn't know where he was going, nore did he care. He brought no umbrella.

'Does anyone really know where they are going? I could walk through this storm for hours, and still end up in the same place as everyone else. Six feet underground. Everyone thinks they are accomplishing things in life, and going places. When honestly, we are going nowhere. It almost makes it seem as if 

everywhere we go when we are alive is just a detour. Just a way of escaping the harsh reality that everyone second we live is just another step down the winding road that leads to death…'

It hurt to think like that, but it's how he got through his life. He looked up, and realized he had ended up infront of Rei's doorstep.

"…how?"

He forgot about how, and why. He did not call out her name, he simply burst open her door. She had been laying on her bed, holding on to the glasses given to her by Gendo.

She glanced upwards, to see a soaked fourteen year old boy who forgot to take his shoes off when he came in.

"Ayanami…Rei…whatever! I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything I said. I…I know how you feel. And I know…I know…I know…" He looked up at her, than to the ground.

"I…I know."

He then began to cry.

She stood up, and approached him. She could have hit him, or ignored him. She could have done anything, but instead she embraced him.

He tucked his head into her shoulder and balled like a baby. Like a baby in a mother's arms.

She sat him down with her on her bed, and stoked the back of his head calmly. It seemed to come as an instict to her.

She then looked him the eyes and spoke softly.

"I forgive you."

Ok, so that's it. It is now 4:24 in the morning, and there are probably some typoes. But hey, I am half asleep after all. I hope you all enjoy this, because I really enjoyed typing it. Give me some feedback, honesty is always aweomse. I look forward to responses, I'm going to sleep! 


End file.
